1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to an apparatus for coping molding. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coping apparatus which accurately copes molding by using a stylus which follows a template and a cutting means which is directed to cope a piece of molding by movement of the stylus along the template.
2. State of the Art
Molding is often provided to the walls of a room to provide an attractive border to the room. Molding along the wall adjacent the floor is called baseboard molding. Molding along a central portion of the wall is called chair rail molding, often used to prevent the back of a chair from scraping and scarring the wall. The molding provided around a ceiling is referred to as crown molding and is often applied between the wall and ceiling at an angle such that the profile, or contoured pattern, of the face side of the molding is directed into the room. Coping is the process whereby the end of one piece of molding is shaped to seat flushly against the face of another piece to ensure that the two pieces of molding fit together properly (thereby having an attractive appearance) when joined at an inside corner.
In general, coping requires the laborious process of first forming a traced outline of a negative image of the profile of the molding, and then using a hand-held coping saw to cut about the end grain of the molding along the traced outline so that the end of the molding has the negative profile of the molding. With respect to crown molding, the coping process is further complicated by the respective angle relative to the wall and ceiling at which two pieces of corner molding are applied to the wall and ceiling. Because most walls do not intersect at exactly ninety degrees due to imperfections in the wall construction or warping of wood, it is desirable to `undercut` the molding; that is, remove excess wood from the rear of the molding along the traced outline, to provide a back clearance. The undercut compensates for the likelihood that the wall corners are not true, and permits the coped piece of molding to meet the face of the other piece of corner molding so that the coped end can seat flush against the face side of the adjoining piece of molding without interference from the back of the molding.
The procedure of coping molding is an exacting process, requiring a high degree of care and the skills of an experienced carpenter. Moreover, the process is time consuming. As each corner requires a piece of molding to have a negative image of the profile of the molding cut into its end and checked for fit, and, quite often, modified one or more times, coping creates high demands on skilled labor resources.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,732 to Heasley discloses a coping apparatus which is designed to replace the hand cut method of coping and which purports to simplify and expedite the coping of molding. The device includes a circular saw blade having teeth set to one side driven by a motor and mounted on a movable mount, a pin-like stylus also coupled to the mount, a vertical clamp which holds a piece of molding by placing pressure on the face of the molding, and a support for holding a relatively flat template. A piece of molding is placed in the vertical clamp with the end to be coped facing the saw blade, and the stylus is moved about a template held in the support. The stylus is moved in one direction along the template and causes a corresponding movement of the saw blade through the wood. The saw blade may also be tilted, ostensibly to cut crown molding.
The Heasley device is beset by a number of serious drawbacks which prevent its operation as described. First, while the Heasley device requires the use of templates, the Heasley device does not enable the construction of a template. It will be appreciated that a template which simply has the profile of the molding will not correctly guide the saw blade, as the saw blade is round and will cut the molding at an offset related to the height of the molding. However, the height of the molding varies across its face. Only where the molding is relatively minimal in thickness, e.g., at its edges, will the Heasley device accurately reproduce the profile of the face of the molding on the coped end. Otherwise, the Heasley device provides no means of compensating for the offset, and as a result, the device will not produce the desired profile off a template. Second, the round saw blade of the Heasley device which cuts from one side is ill-equipped to cope left and right inside corners of the molding profile as can be done by a standard hand coping saw. Third, the clamp provided by Heasley to secure molding being coped will deform the face of the molding. Fourth, contrary to Heasley's description of his coping device, it has been found that the Heasley device is not able to cope crown moldings with the use of template.